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UP 2022 election result: India’s BJP soars to victory in the country’s most populous state

By Virginia J. Ruiz

The party won a clear majority in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, securing 255 of 403 legislative seats and making it the first party since 1989 to win two consecutive terms in the state.

The magnitude of the BJP victory in Uttar Pradesh is a testament to the popularity of monk turned chief minister Yogi Adityanath in the Hindu-majority state, where he has spearheaded the populist policy that analysts say aims to transform secular India into a Hindu nation.

Home to over 200 million people, the state’s election outcome is often seen as a precursor to what to expect in India’s general election. Uttar Pradesh votes for the most lawmakers in the national parliament, and the BJP’s presence in the state is likely to boost support for Modi when he stands for election for the third time in 2024.

Modi has fiercely backed Adityanath during his campaign in Uttar Pradesh, and Thursday’s victory means the controversial Adityanath should be reinstated as the state’s chief minister.

Thursday’s result is a skid on the result of 2017, when the BJP was victorious, winning 312 out of 403 seats in the Legislative Assembly.

“Today is a day to celebrate Indian democracy. I congratulate all voters who participated in this election,” Modi said on Thursday as he addressed a massive and cheering crowd at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.

The BJP also won elections in the states of Manipur, Uttarakhand and Goa, while in the northern state of Punjab, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi party , toppled India’s main opposition, the Congress Party, which previously held the state. .

Why Victory Matters

During his five years as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Adityanath became known for his provocative rhetoric against Muslims. In a 2019 speech, he said the Muslim vote was a “green virus” trying to take over the country. In February, he used a derogatory word when referring to Muslim men in an interview with a local television station.

And over the past five years, the state has passed legislation that critics say is deeply rooted in Hindutva ideology – which seeks to culturally uphold Hindu values.

He made it more difficult to transport and sell cows – an animal considered sacred to Hindus – and campaigned aggressively to shut down slaughterhouses. In 2020, the state introduced controversial anti-conversion bill, making it more difficult for interfaith couples to marry or for people to convert to Islam or Christianity. Some towns named after historical Muslim figures have had their names changed to reflect India’s Hindu history.
But ahead of the election, the BJP has faced two of its toughest political hurdles in the state in recent years: a devastating second wave of Covid infections last year and a one-year farmers’ eventsome of whom traveled from Uttar Pradesh and occupied roads on the outskirts of India’s capital Delhi for months.
Last year, Uttar Pradesh faced an unprecedented health crisis as coronavirus cases spiked across India, dragging overwhelmed hospitals and overcrowded crematoria. Since the start of the pandemic, the state has recorded more than 23,000 deaths – but the number is considered a gross underestimate by experts.

The BJP has faced allegations of underreporting of its cases and deaths, with families accusing the government of not being well prepared.

The opposing left-wing Samajwadi party, led by 48-year-old former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, has tried to play on these accusations.

But that was not enough to regain control of the state from the BJP, where the population is 80% Hindu.

According to Sharat Pradhan, a freelance journalist from Uttar Pradesh, issues such as “unemployment and inflation are overshadowed” by caste and religion.

Analysts now fear that the scale of this latest victory will reinforce the idea that the BJP’s Hindu nationalist rhetoric is valued more than infrastructure and development.

“With Adityanath winning back-to-back elections, he will be unstoppable,” said Niranajan Sahoo, senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.

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Virginia J. Ruiz
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